The bills and their referral
1.1
On 28 June 2018, the Attorney-General, the Hon Christian Porter MP, introduced the Office of National Intelligence Bill 2018 (the Bill) and the Office of National Intelligence (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2018 (the C&T Bill) into the House of Representatives.
1.2
In his second reading speech, the Attorney-General noted that the bills were part of the Government’s response to the 2017 Independent Intelligence Review (the Review), conducted by Mr Michael L'Estrange, Mr Steve Merchant and their UK adviser Sir Iain Lobban.
1.3
On the same day, the then Prime Minister, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP, wrote to the Committee to refer the bills for inquiry and report.
1.4
In his letter, the then Prime Minister stated that the bills would give effect to his 18 July 2017 announcement that the Government would establish an Office of National Intelligence (ONI). The then Prime Minister noted that in accordance with the Review’s recommendations,
ONI will have two key roles – managing Australia’s national intelligence enterprise, and producing national and strategic intelligence assessments. ONI will also be the principal advisory agency to the Prime Minister on intelligence matters.
1.5
The Committee agreed to complete its inquiry and report to the Prime Minister and the Parliament, noting that the then Prime Minister had requested that the Committee, as far as possible, conduct its inquiry in public.
Context of the inquiry
2017 Independent Intelligence Review
1.6
The Government released the unclassified version of the Review's report on 18 July 2017. The reviewers made 23 overarching recommendations relating to the structural, legislative and oversight architecture of the intelligence community. The establishment of ONI was one of the key recommendations.
1.7
The Review found that
there are important conclusions Australia can draw from the recent experiences of our most important intelligence partners. All our Five Eyes partners have a single point of co‑ordination for their intelligence communities. Australia’s co-ordination arrangements are not as clear …
With an annual budget approaching $2 billion and about 7,000 staff spread across 10 agencies, it is clear to us that on size alone the Australian Government’s intelligence activities supporting national security are now a major enterprise. They would benefit from being managed as such.
Our major recommendation is that an Office of National Intelligence (ONI) be established in the Prime Minister’s portfolio. This Office would be headed by a Director-General who would be the Prime Minister’s principal adviser on matters relating to the national intelligence community. The Director-General would not be empowered to direct the specific activities of agencies, but should be able to direct the co-ordination of the national intelligence community to ensure there are appropriately integrated strategies across the suite of agency capabilities.
1.8
The Review further recommended that ONI ‘subsume the Office of National Assessments [ONA] and undertake the intelligence assessment function in an expanded way that includes greater contestability and more extensive engagement with external expertise’.
1.9
The findings of the Review in relation to the establishment of ONI are discussed in more detail in Chapter 2. Recommendations from the Review relevant to ONI are contained in Appendix C of this Report.
The Government’s response
1.10
In accepting the recommendations of the Review, the Government announced it would establish ONI, to be led by a Director-General of National Intelligence (DGNI). The Government noted that the reforms resulting from the Review ‘are significant and complex; they will take time to fully implement’.
1.11
When introducing the bills to Parliament on 28 June 2018, the Attorney-General stated that the creation of ONI would also complete the vision of Justice Robert Hope, who carried out two Royal Commissions into Australia’s intelligence and security agencies in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Attorney-General noted that one of Hope’s key recommendations in 1977 was that:
Australia establish an independent agency that stood apart from policy departments to provide the Prime Minister with intelligence assessments on political, strategic and economic issues. Hope also intended that this agency would assume responsibilities for the leadership and coordination of the Australian intelligence community as a whole.
The Attorney-General explained that:
While ONI is an idea born out of the Hope royal commissions, we have refined the Hope vision based on the models successfully adopted by our closest intelligence partners, the Five Eyes.
Conduct of the inquiry
1.12
The Committee announced the inquiry by media release on 6 July 2018 and invited submissions from interested members of the public by 30 July 2018.
1.13
The Committee received three submissions and one supplementary submission which are listed at Appendix A.
1.14
The Committee held one public hearing in Canberra on 16 August 2018. A list of witnesses who appeared before the Committee is included at Appendix B.
1.15
Copies of submissions received and transcripts of the hearing can be accessed on the Committee’s website at: http://www.aph.gov.au/pjcis. Links to the bills and explanatory memorandums are also available at the Committee’s website.
1.16
In line with the Committee’s terms of reference for the inquiry, the Committee’s review did not extend to examining the merits of the recommendations of the Independent Intelligence Review. Rather, the Committee examined the provisions of both bills, and how the proposed legislation reflects the recommendations from the Review.
1.17
The Committee also examined whether ONI has been given adequate powers and functions to lead a better coordinated and more integrated intelligence community, and looked at any impact on the existing roles and statutory functions of the other Australian intelligence agencies.
Summary of the bills
1.18
The provisions of each bill are outlined in Chapter 3.
1.19
In summary, the ONI Bill continues the former Office of National Assessments (ONA) as ONI, but provides further functions and roles for ONI beyond that of ONA. In particular, the Bill:
provides that ONI’s functions include to lead the national intelligence community (NIC),
extends ONI’s assessment and evaluation functions from that of ONA,
provides ONI with a specific open source collection function, and
positions DGNI as the head of the NIC, whose responsibilities include keeping the Prime Minister informed on matters relating to the NIC.
1.20
The C&T Bill repeals the Office of National Assessments Act 1977, and amends 18 other acts to reflect the proposed operation of the Bill.
Report structure
1.21
The report consists of three chapters:
This chapter sets out the context and conduct of the inquiry, as well as a brief summary of the bills,
Chapter 2 examines the recommendations from the Independent Intelligence Review,
Chapter 3 provides a summary of both bills, examines the bills’ compatibility with the recommendations made in the Independent Intelligence Review, and responds to issues raised by the Committee and submitters in relation to the bills.